US gas well count drops slightly ///

Low natural gas prices hovering around $4/Mcf, regulatory disputes over the environmental safety of fracing, and a large shift in rigs toward oil-directed drilling (in fact, the percentage of rigs drilling for gas decreased to 61% in 2010, from 74% the previous year), all contributed to a slight reduction in the number of producing natural gas wells in the US last year, the first decrease since 1999.